Aland Parliament approves EU Lisbon Treaty

Today, a few days before the Lisbon Treaty enters into force in the European Union, the Åland Parliament (Ålands lagting) has approved the amending treaty with respect to the territory of the Aland Islands and the areas covered by the legislation of this autonomous province of Finland.


The press release, available through the home page of the Aland Parliament (in Swedish) states that the Lisbon Treaty was approved by 24 votes (out of a total of 30 local parliamentarians):

Ålands lagting röstade idag ja till Lissabonfördraget

Lagtingets behandling av Lissabonfördraget avslutades idag med en tredje behandling då en slutlig omröstning hölls. Lagtingets samtycke gavs med 24 röster. Obunden samlings, Ålands framtids ledamot samt en ledamot från Centern röstade nej. För samtycke krävs kvalificerad majoritet av de närvarande ledamöterna som såleddes uppnåddes.

Till grund för behandlingen låg republikens presidents framställning nr. 6/2007-2008. Samtidigt behandlades landskapsregeringens meddelande nr 4/2007-2008. De klämmar om bl.a. inflytandefrågor som lagutskottet fogat till sitt betänkande om presidentframställningen antogs samtigt av lagtinget.

För den som är intresserad av lagtingets hela behandling av ärendet hänvisas till lagtingets web-sida, www.lagtinget.ax. Klicka på "Dokument och ärenden och skriv Lissabonfördraget i sökformuläret.

A two thirds majority was required for approval.

The decision means that the Åland Islands do not enter a legal grey zone when the Lisbon Treaty becomes law on 1 December 2009. Finland ratified the reform treaty in 2008.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Do you find EUSSR myths fascinating? Are we EU citizens worth a better European Union? Read some or all of the 481 Euroblogs aggregated on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. On most of the blogs you can comment and discuss our common European future.

Aland Islands and EU Lisbon Treaty (November 2009 update)

The Autonomy Committee (Självstyrelsepolitiska nämnden) of the Åland Parliament (Ålands lagting) has prepared an 18 page opinion for the Legal Committee (Lagutskottet), published 27 October 2009, and available in doc format through the link: Lissabonfördraget Självstyrelsepolitiska nämnden har avgivit sitt utlåtande till lagutskottet om Lissabonfördraget. Klicka här om du vill läsa utlåtandet.

The Legal Committee will issue a report on the application of the EU Treaty of Lisbon in the Åland Islands.

As yet, there is no plenary date for the debate and decision to approve or reject the amending treaty with regard to Åland.

Approval by the Åland Parliament plenary requires a qualified majority of two thirds of the 30 members in the regional parliament, and the decision concerns the application of the Lisbon Treaty in the Åland Islands, with regard to the areas with autonomous legislation.



Finland formally ratified the EU Treaty of Lisbon 30 September 2008.

The formal ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty will be concluded, when the Czech prime minister Jan Fischer deposits the 27th and last ratification instrument with the Italian government (foreign ministry) in Rome next Friday, 13 November, which means that the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force on 1 December 2009.

Thus, the Åland Islands can be expected to make its decision during the course of November in order to avoid a legal grey zone.




Ralf Grahn




P.S. Get to know the real EUSSR by reading and commenting on the good, the better and the best Euroblogs on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. Propose your own blog or another blog with a European (EU) theme.

Aland Islands & EU Lisbon Treaty

Finland is one of the 24 member states, which have completed formal ratification, but the EU’s Treaty of Lisbon still lies in the Legal Committee of the regional Åland Parliament, which either consents to or rejects the applicability of the amending treaty in the autonomous province (population 27,000).



The local politicians are still holding out for increased representation and influence in the European Union (including a member of the European Parliament) and in Finnish EU affairs, but I failed to find any updates less than a month old on the web pages of the Åland Parliament (Ålands lagting), the Åland Government (Ålands landskapsregering), or the local media Ålandstidningen, Nya Åland and Ålands Radio/TV AB.

***

If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all member states (of which 24 have completed formal ratification), it enters into force at the beginning of the following month.

Without Åland’s consent, since the new treaty replaces the Treaty of Nice, the Åland Islands would have no legal relationship with the European Union.


Ralf Grahn

Åland Islands: Lisbon Treaty & ratification update

Not much of an update, actually, but to keep the editors of Wikipedia and other observers informed.

This blog post can only state that 13 months have now passed since the Åland Parliament registered the request from the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, to approve the European Union’s Treaty of Lisbon (on 21 April 2008).

The matter is still lingering in the Legal Committee, which has failed to issue a report for the plenary. (Earlier posts have dealt with the background.)

National parliaments in 26 EU member states have approved the reform treaty. Finland has completed its ratification procedure, but the unresolved issue is if the Lisbon Treaty will be applicable in the Åland Islands. A positive vote requires a two thirds majority in the regional parliament.


Ralf Grahn


P.S. The loose ends with regard to the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty are:

• In the Czech Republic, President Vaclav Klaus seems bent upon doing all he can to disrupt or delay the procedure, despite ratifications in nearly all member states and the amending treaty now approved by two chambers of the national parliament. The latest excuse is a planned new complaint to the Constitutional Court, which has already ruled on the constitutionality of the Lisbon Treaty.

• In Poland President Lech Kaczynski has withheld his signature from the Lisbon Treaty approved by both houses of parliament.

• In Germany the Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) is expected to ponder the constitutionality of the Lisbon Treaty until after the European elections.

• Ireland has been given political assurances about maintaining the oversized Commission and assurances concerning sensitive areas (abortion, tax, neutrality) if the Lisbon Treaty is approved in the second referendum, probably in October. The final wording of these guarantees is expected at the European Council 18 to 19 June 2009.

Aland Islands: Lisbon Treaty

What is so special about 21 April 2009?

Very little, in fact. It is just the anniversary of the EU Treaty of Lisbon in the Åland Islands (population 27,500). On this day a year ago, the authorities in autonomous Åland registered the arrival of the request by the President of Finland to approve the amending treaty with regard to the areas subject to local legislation.

About a month and four plenary sessions later the Åland Parliament sent the proposal to its Legal Committee, responsible for legal business which relates to the autonomy of Åland and to international treaties which are applicable to Åland.



No report has appeared. The status file this morning tells us that the matter is still being prepared.

Approval of the Lisbon Treaty is not listed on the preliminary agendas of the three coming plenary sessions.

***

How should we interpret the situation?

Two conflicting forces are at work. The European Union is a project of deepening integration, in other words lowering barriers. The driving force of local politics in Åland is to strengthen the particular traits of local society (language, culture, political and economic rights, administration, businesses, legislation etc.). The special status of Åland was accepted by the European Union when Finland became a member state in 1995; the Åland Protocol, enshrined by the Lisbon Treaty, even condones practices, which are contrary to core internal market principles (as long as discrimination of outsiders is practiced equally).

The Lisbon Treaty affects areas of autonomous Åland legislation only marginally, but a positive response requires a two thirds majority in the local parliament with 30 members.

The slow response has little to do with the Lisbon Treaty ‘per se’, but has been used as a bargaining chip to press for concessions from the Finnish Government with regard to EU affairs. Åland already is fully involved in the preparation and conduct of these matters, so the aspirations have taken aim at representation (Council, European Parliament, Court of Justice), a harder nut to crack.

If a coming proposal to approve the Lisbon Treaty fails to get the required qualified majority, it would lead to an unprecedented situation. The amending treaty would not be applicable in a part of the territory of a member state. But what would follow, if the rest of the European Union had moved forward from the Treaty of Nice?

Finland would have to notify the European Union, and it would have to negotiate some sort of new status for Åland. But what would the EU accept today, given that exemptions increasingly complicate the application of EU legislation in an expanding union?

If the Treaty of Lisbon falls in the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland or Poland, the problem disappears. But so does Åland’s bargaining chip.

NB: Finland has concluded its ratification process. Åland decides only with regard to its own territory.


Ralf Grahn